Fig, parma ham and camembert piegata

There are two ways to enjoy Polo, another one of those quintessentially English events I love so much - like the Henley Royal Regatta, Horseracing at Ascot, Picnic Concerts and the Wimbledon Finals: you can dress up like Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman", buy a ticket for about a hundred quid (be informed that at this price, Richard Gere doesn't come as standard!), and soldier through a probably perfectly forgettable buffet and wine you wouldn't even buy if it was the last bottle on Earth and you were desperate to get over a relationship you (and only you) thought was absolutely perfect.

Or you can sit directly opposite all those beautiful people, spreading your blanket between yours and your neighbours' car (mind you, except for your own, the vehicles we're talking are likely to be the Aston Martins and BMW Z4 convertibles of this world, rather than a dirty old beaten Daihatsu) and enjoy the same view from the cheap ranks. And you still get to "tread the turf" at half-time.

But saving on the entry fee doesn't mean you have to be a cheapskate: it might mean that you're a gourmet on two levels... for the money you set aside, you could afford to splash out on a lunch at the nearby Petersham Nurseries, easily the best spot for amazing food in the South-West of the capItal - and you can also afford decent picnic food for starters! Forget the pre-cut, dried-out carrot sticks and tiny pot of hoummus you picked up from M&S, leave behind the bland-tasting Brussels paté, cheap cheddar and the crackers which are doing their best to approximate cardboard for a taste-experience.

Now, I love a decent ploughman's sandwich as much as the next person, but on such occasions, I think you really should do it in style. Last weekend at the Ham Polo Grounds, I splashed out on the must-have tastes of the autumn: a slice of moist and succulent parma ham, some ripe and runny camembert, a scattering of rocket leaves and a generous helping of the plumpest, ripest figs the stalls have on offer - all wegded into a rosemary & olive piegata, aka as a delicious Italian flatbread. This bread is new at my supermarket: a dough similar to a thick pizza base, but a light and fluffy one at that, at the same time strong enough to hold any filling. It's enriched with rosemary and olive oil and can be used in the same way as you would a pitta pocket... but has more sustenance, more bite and holds its shape much better. Luckily, it is also already folded (as the name suggests), so I don't struggle with it in the same way as I invariably do with my picnic blanket - why is it that I can never seem to fold and put it back in the right way? Almost as difficult as those maps I used to have eternal fights with before we got sat nav...

Fig, parma ham & camembert piegata
(servs 4)

4 piegata breads (use pitta pockets as an alternative or ciabatta rolls)
8 thin slices parma ham
2 handfuls rocket leaves
2 large, ripe figs (cut into small wedges)
150 g very ripe camembert
cracked black pepper

Warm the piegatas in the oven so they become more supple and won't tear around the middle as you fill them.
Stuff with 2 slices of ham each, some rocket, some camembert and half a fig each.
Season with cracked pepper.

Comments

[Anne]

Oh wow. That just looks amazing. :)

[Sarah]

What a brilliant combination!

[Katie]

That almost looks too good to eat - so elegant.

[Flo Bretzel]

This italian bread look great!

[Müfin]

Dear miss,

First of all, I am a true lover of your blog and of your recipes. Now that said, I think I remeber from a delicious issue that you live in London. Maybe you could help a desperate little Frenchie lost in all those supermarkets. Where are all the markets ? I mean true markets not those farmer markets for Marylebone foodies that don't remeber the price of a lemon.
I can't find any decent, season, fresh and tasty food !
I have to acknowledge that I live in Fitzrovia, that might not be the best place for food markets. So if you have any idea, you are my guest !

[Audrey]

That looks delicious. I love figs. We have a fig tree in our garden at our summerhouse in Croatia (at the sea)!

[Kit]

Boy does that look good. I'd sit in the car park for a few bites of wonderful parma ham too!

[Jennifer]

Anything with fresh figs, salty ham, and creamy cheese is delicious in my book! Yum.

[Margaret]

What an amazing taste sensation that must have been!

[Julia]

Oh goodness there would be nothing more delicious. And what an incredible photo - that oozing cheese is irresistible!

[Ivonne]

Johanna!

That picture is just too much! I wish I could have lunch with you so you could make me one of these for my very own!

[african vanielje]

Johanna, we seem to be living on the same delicious planet, just had something almost identical for supper. I lurve figs & cheese. It's such a sensual combo it should have an x rating.

[Jeanne]

OMG... that looks incredible. Please promise to make these next time we get together?? There is very little to beat figs and Parma ham as a combo...

[Dorothee]

I just looked at the photo and... oh my God, now I'm hungry! Want to come visit me in Munich and bring some of those? ;-)

[Pieds Des Anges (Kyla)]

What a stunning picture. I do love parma ham. Did you think about putting on any dijon?

[Sylvia]

Lovely combination,fresh figs and chesse are yummy

[Mimi]

This sounds amazing and extremely tasty!

[Steamy Kitchen]

This is on our menu for Sunday brunch! My son, Andrew is going to bake the bread and we'll have a little spread of figs, cheese, arugula and parma.

[Sam Harrison]

This is such a great recipe, though I was wondering if you had one for just the piegatas themselves as I can't find one anywhere.

[johanna]

sam, i dodn't have a recipe myself, so i contacted my trusted italian connection of kitchen pantry and here's what she came back with:
the bread you used looks like spianata, a typical sardinian bread: I've never made it, but it shouldn't be too hard... It's a thicker version of piadina....
I found a recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_10164,00.html
It looks pretty authentic... the only problem, as I read on an Italian cooking forum, is the cooking process, which should be made in a burning wood oven, which is quite typical in Sardinian rural homes, but rather extravagant elsewhere... :-)

hope this helps
johanna